Happy new year! 2022 is here and it promises to be an important year for EDA. Last month, Assistant Secretary Castillo visited the Wistar Institute in Philadelphia to announce the recipients of the $2 million STEM Talent Challenge. The Philadelphia Region was proud to host this event and I thank everyone who made it such a huge success.

Last December, Secretary Raimondo announced the finalists for EDA’s $1 billion Build Back Better Regional Challenge. The Philadelphia Region was well represented. Shortly thereafter, the Biden-Harris Administration issued a fact sheet that highlighted these finalists, noting their commitment to clean energy and other climate-related industries.

We’ve only just begun. Build Back Better represents one of six new EDA programs made possible through the American Rescue Plan. Next up is the Good Jobs Challenge, which has extended the application deadline until February 10, allowing more of our stakeholders the opportunity to be a part of this important program.

For the latest updates, please visit EDA.gov and our social media channels.

Thank you.

The town of Somerset is a small, waterfront community in southeastern Massachusetts. It was incorporated in 1790 but has a rich heritage dating back to the founding of America. Today, it is home to more than 18,000 residents, boasting a diverse population representing many cultures and communities.

For several generations, the town relied on the coal industry as both its main employer and as a key tax generator. The Montaup Power Plant, situated on the banks of the Taunton River, opened in 1925 and operated for close to a century, before closing its doors in 2010. Just seven years later, the Brayton Point Power Station (photo above), which was the largest coal-burning plant in the state, closed its doors as well.

The back-to-back closures had a serious economic impact on Somerset. In late 2017, the town turned to the Economic Development Administration through its Assistance to Coal Communities program, receiving a $1.1 million planning grant to develop a blueprint for future economic growth including a comprehensive master plan, an economic development plan and other component projects.

Although the town had faced a series of economic setbacks, it was about to get its second wind. With two local power plants sitting unoccupied, Somerset turned to offshore wind development as both a source of power for the community and as a provider of jobs.

EDA’s planning investments allowed Somerset to consider alternative forms of redevelopment for the former Brayton Point facility, including clean energy. EDA’s infrastructure investments support private investment and redevelopment of the Brayton Point site.

Mayflower Wind, an offshore provider of low-cost clean energy in New England, won a state bid to develop an offshore wind farm south of Martha’s Vineyard. The company partnered with Anbaric, a renewable energy company, who will construct a converter station and battery storage facility. Together, these two companies will bring offshore wind electricity to Brayton Point and a nearby National Grid substation.

In addition, Brayton Point also has an agreement for the construction of a manufacturing facility to produce underground transmission cables for the offshore wind project and the creation of more than 200 jobs for the Town of Somerset. Once completed, these initial projects will provide economic development opportunities that will diversify the region’s economy and strengthen existing and emerging industries across the offshore wind spectrum.

Anticipating an increased demand in local infrastructure as a result of these projects, Somerset developed an Integrated Water Resources Management Plan with EDA support. It led to the identification and development of additional EDA projects for the community, designed to support infrastructure upgrades to the existing water and wastewater treatment facilities, as well as water and sewer improvements to address inflow and infiltration issues. These additional projects totaled nearly $2 million, comprised of both EDA and local matching funds.

EDA support also helped facilitate an inter-municipal agreement between Somerset and the neighboring town of Swansea, which is unable to develop its owned municipal sewer system.  This agreement will enable Somerset to provide sewer service to its neighbor and catalyze regional economic development opportunities for both communities. Somerset is also working to upgrade its reservoir in anticipation of an increase in demand for water services.

These grant projects were facilitated and administered by the Southeastern Regional Planning and Economic Development District (SRPEDD). For more than fifty years, SRPEDD has been a federally designated economic development district. Today, it credits EDA support with much of the success.

“We have a long history with EDA, some of the best investments our region has had in over fifty years of collaboration” said Don Sullivan, Director of Community and Economic Development. “These opportunities would not exist without the continued support of EDA.”

Once completed, these projects will provide increased capacity in Somerset and will support future regional economic development to area communities.

Debra Beavin

Economic Development Representative

Debra Beavin is an Economic Development Representative who came to EDA in 2008. She lives in Fall River, Massachusetts, one of three states where she provides economic development support. She also covers Connecticut and Rhode Island.

Beavin came to EDA after spending several years in state government as the executive director of economic development. In this position, she often worked with EDA, developing many of the bureau’s projects and managing a successful Revolving Loan Fund portfolio. She also served as the executive director of an Economic Development District, representing a large region of southern Indiana. It instilled in her a sense of partnership between EDA and the communities it serves.

“I wanted to be a part of that,” Beavin recalls. “EDA brings economic development initiatives and opportunities to many communities where they wouldn’t otherwise happen.”

Beavin considers herself fortunate to represent New England, a region at the forefront of the ‘Blue Economy’ and a leader in new forms of sustainable energy.

“This is the most interesting industry that I have ever experienced during my career in economic development, at any level. It is vaster than any other industry I have worked with, offering no boundaries and no age limits.”

She appreciates the opportunity to work with and support those who are making strides within this emerging industry, recalling a recent visit to Ocean Alliance, a whale research and conservation organization in Gloucester, Massachusetts. The company recently developed a new drone device designed to support whale disentanglement efforts. Dubbed the “Snot Bot” (see photo below), it collects exhaled breath samples and other forms of information from whales in the Gulf of Maine and in international waters, sharing that information with mammal researchers around the world. Like the Snot Bot, many of the drones are developed by junior high and high school students, in workshops and training sessions, provided at no cost by Ocean Alliance.

Another aspect of the position that Beavin appreciates is being able to work alongside communities and partners in the development of projects for their regions.

“I have come to realize there is nothing about my experiences with EDA that brings more gratitude or humbles me greater than to inform a community that we will assist them in their efforts and needs. They are often brought to tears, and that makes all that we are asked to do as civil servants each day worth it.”

When not at work, she loves to spend more time in the outdoors hitting the hiking and biking trails in her home state of Washington. She’s also an avid gardener, declaring “if it blooms, I want to try my hand at growing it.”